1. Condolences on the Martyrdom of Imam Musa Kazim (AS)
🕰️ 1 minute
2. Special Podcast for Newcomers
What responsibilities do foreign representatives have, and how do they help boost our exports? How can Aradi traders utilize these capacities?
3. Special Article for Newcomers
If the people and officials are truly serious about reducing divorce rates, instead of spending on counseling, conferences, and various working groups, they should invest in getting people into trade. This will miraculously reduce divorce rates on its own.
4. Receiving Export Payments
🕰️ 57 minutes
5. Arad Visual Documentation
🕰️ 2 minutes
6. Product Supply Categorization
🕰️ 11 minute
7. Lebanese Representative’s Visit to Iran
🕰️ 1 minute
8. First Common Misconception
First, I intend to, if God wills, correct three misconceptions in the minds of some Arad members, especially newcomers, although I believe, as Imam Ali (AS) said: “Changing beliefs is harder than moving mountains.”
The first misconception we hear is the claim that “Arad wants to make all the people of Iran traders. We must remember that society needs all professions, and the idea that everyone should become a trader is wrong.”
In response to this misconception, we must say that, firstly, Arad does not want everyone in Iran to become a trader. Arad wants to increase the number of Iranian traders, which is currently less than one thousandth of the country’s population, to one-tenth of the population.
Secondly, while it is true that Arad is working to spread the message of trade to everyone, so that there is no excuse left for anyone, who has said that everyone will heed this call?
These individuals speak as if everyone is ready to say “Yes, Sir” to Arad, and whatever Arad says, they will reply with “Understood.”
No, my dear friends, it’s not like that.
According to our statistics, out of every hundred people, only one to three accept the idea of becoming a trader, and 97 to 99 others, even after hearing all the logical arguments, still do not enter into trade.
So, do not be too concerned about Iran facing a shortage of workers and employees.
The third point is this: Have the people in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, where their citizens don’t do labor, faced a shortage of workers?
No, my dear friends, in fact, people from other countries come willingly and enthusiastically to work for them, and every worker you see in Kuwait is definitely a migrant.
I wish a significant portion of us Iranians were involved in trade, then there would be no need to expel our Afghan brothers from the country. Instead, we would welcome their presence in Iran because they take on a large portion of the labor force, just as the wealthy countries of the world do today.
9. Second Misconception
We ask him, “Why don’t you follow up after speaking with the customer?”
He replies, “A word to the wise is enough.”
This is a completely wrong proverb that has become ingrained in Iranian culture, as if it has the authority of the Quran and that God revealed it.
How many of you read the verses of the Quran where God repeats a point ten times?
Do you think God has a short memory and forgot that He has already mentioned this before?
No, my dear, it’s not like that. He wants to make us understand that the saying “A word to the wise is enough” is nothing but nonsense.
Which one of you accepts the truth after hearing it just once?
Personally, I’ve spoken with you all about trade from different perspectives over a hundred times, and every time you write in the comments, “I’ve never looked at trade and the Quran this way,” but then, after a while, you distance yourselves from Arad, start doubting that you can become a trader, and decide to take another path.
If Arad also said, “A word to the wise is enough,” none of the traders at Arad today would be traders.
If senior managers had only said this once, there wouldn’t be a single trader today.
Do you tell your child to brush their teeth once, and they will brush their teeth for the rest of their life?
Do you tell them to pray once, and they will pray for the rest of their life?
If this statement were true, then the prophets of God, who spent years speaking to the people, telling them to worship none but the One God, would have been wasting their time.
Because according to the saying “A word to the wise is enough,” O Messenger of God, you told the people on the first day to say that there is no god but Allah, and they should have believed right then and there if they were people of understanding.
So why did the Prophet of God endure all those years of hardship, bearing all that suffering, to embed this one sentence in the hearts of the people?
The truth is that this proverb is completely wrong and was created by lazy people who do not wish to make an effort or spend time guiding others, nor are they willing to bear the hardships involved.
These are the people who have no sense of responsibility toward humanity and just want to calm their guilty conscience.
When you ask them, “Why didn’t you make the effort to guide your loved one?”
They would answer, “I told them once, and a word to the wise is enough.”
To such people, you should say: “Then you are not wise, because you wouldn’t accept a word even if you heard it once.”
We remind you a thousand times of your thousand mistakes, and still, you remain the same, and we repeat it again, hoping that you will correct yourself.
When God chose Moses (AS) to be a prophet, He told him: “O Moses, go to Pharaoh and guide him to the straight path.”
Moses replied: “My Lord, I have spoken to him many times about goodness, but he has no ear to listen to the truth.”
And when God saw that Moses (AS) was struggling to face Pharaoh alone, He appointed his brother Aaron (AS) to be with him and said:
“Go, both of you, to Pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed all bounds; But speak to him mildly; perchance he may take warning or fear [Allah].” Surah Taha, 20:43-44
Although God knows the ultimate outcome of all human actions and is certain that Pharaoh will not heed the advice, fear, or humble himself, He still instructs His two beloved prophets to go to him and speak gently.
Well, if God had the logic of “A word to the wise is enough,” why would He have said this?
Perhaps you might say, “Well, because Moses hadn’t spoken to him yet after becoming a prophet.”
Okay, let’s accept that. But what about this: Do you think that Moses only spoke to Pharaoh once after his prophethood?
God mentions Moses’ conversation with Pharaoh at least nine times in the Qur’an, stating:
“To Moses We did give Nine Clear Signs: As the Children of Israel: when he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: “O Moses! I consider thee, indeed, to have been worked upon by sorcery!” Surah Al-Isra, 17:101
In fact, these nine instances likely came after multiple previous attempts, because after each rejection by Pharaoh, God sent him minor punishments and said:
“So We sent [plagues] on them: Wholesale death, Locusts, Lice, Frogs, And Blood: Signs openly self-explained: but they were steeped in arrogance, a people given to sin.” Surah Al-A’raf, 7:133
Perhaps some of the esteemed readers might think that all of these punishments were sent by God at once.
Pay attention to the phrase Ayat Mofassalat.
Mofassalat comes from the root (fasl), which in Arabic means “separate” or “distinct.”
This means that God is emphasizing that these signs were not all sent at once for their guidance, but rather in separate instances. Moses spoke to them once, they rejected it, and then God sent the flood. The next time they rejected it, locusts attacked. After that, lice appeared, then frogs, and later they were struck by blood and death. All of these signs did not come in a single moment; they were spread out.
Likewise, God appointed Noah (AS) to guide his people, urging them to embrace the one simple truth: “Abandon many wrongdoings for the sake of God.”
Behold, their brother Noah said to them: “Will ye not fear [Allah]?” Surah Ash-Shu’ara, 26:106
Now, do you think Noah only repeated this message once?
“And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them for a thousand years minus fifty years.” Surah Al-Ankabut, 29:14
Noah called his people to faith for 950 years, yet they still rejected and disbelieved him. But he did not give up.
Now, do you think God sent only Noah to the people of Noah?
No, this is not the case.
Before Noah, many other prophets were sent to them, and because Noah was the last prophet they saw before the punishment came, their descendants were known as the “people of Noah.”
You might ask, “How do I know this?”
Let me show you by reading this verse carefully.
“The people of Noah denied the messengers.” Surah Ash-Shu’ara, 26:105
“Messengers” is the plural of “Messenger,” meaning it wasn’t just Noah they denied, but also other messengers who came before him.
“At length, behold! there came Our command, and the fountains of the earth gushed forth! We said: Embark therein, of each kind two, male and female, and your family – except those against whom the word has already gone forth,- and the Believers.” but only a few believed with him.” Surah Hud, 11:40
Here you are waiting to hear how much they believed in him, as God immediately says:
Despite Noah’s long efforts, only a small number of people believed in him.
From Imam Baqir (AS), it was asked, “How many people believed in Noah?”
He replied: “8 people.”
Some narrations mention 80 people, but whether it was 8 or 80, after 950 years, what does this show?
It shows that the saying “A word to the wise is enough” is completely wrong.
The prophets of God, with their eloquent speech, repeated a message a thousand times, but you and I, with our faltering and insufficient language, speak once to a customer, and if they do not buy, we do not follow up, and we use the logic that “if there is someone, one word is enough?”
God forbid from such misguided beliefs.
10. The Third Misconception
Some criticize Arad for promoting trade so much and quoting hadiths that highlight the virtues of trade, while the Prophet of God also recommended working for wages.
Then, when we wait to hear the evidence they present about the Prophet’s recommendation of labor, we hear things like:
The Prophet of God kissed the hand of a worker.
The Prophet of God said: “Pay the worker his wages before his sweat dries.”
The Prophet of God said: “Do not oppress your workers.”
And other similar narrations, all of which are considered authentic and reliable among the hadith narrators.
However, the question here is: Do these narrations encourage people to engage in labor as a profession?
If I present to you an authentic hadith where the Prophet of God kissed the forehead of cats, horses, cows, and donkeys, would you interpret that as an encouragement to become a cat, horse, cow, or donkey?
Kissing the hand of a worker or advising not to deprive them of their rights or to not oppress them implies that these servants of God are a class that is often oppressed and mistreated. Therefore, the Prophet’s advice was directed to employers, urging them to be fair to their workers.
Now, if we were to ask the Prophet of God, “O Messenger of God, do you recommend that a person place himself in a situation where he is oppressed, or do you think that if he has the opportunity, he should remove himself from such a situation?”
What do you think the Prophet would say?
Certainly, the Prophet would advise to remove oneself from oppression and not work as a laborer.
But, since the Messenger of God knows that there are people who, no matter how much you tell them to engage in trade so that God grants them dignity, no matter how much you tell them that ten percent of wealth lies in trade, and no matter how much you tell them that two-thirds of intellect is in trade, they still do not listen and insist on doing labor
The Prophet of God, as God Himself said about him:
“It is part of the Mercy of Allah that thou dost deal gently with them Wert thou severe or harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about thee: so pass over [Their faults], and ask for [Allah’s] forgiveness for them; and consult them in affairs [of moment].” Surah Al Imran, 3:159
If I were to translate in a colloquial way, I would say that it means you got along with them, you yielded to them, to the point that you didn’t stray from the right path, and you did what would appeal to them.
But this concession by the Prophet does not mean that the Prophet encouraged people to engage in hard labor.
Mu’adh ibn Kathir, a companion of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), was a cloth merchant, and he exclusively traded in a type of coarse fabric called “Karbas.”
One day, he came to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and said:
“I have achieved ease in life; should I leave trade?”
The Imam replied:
“Indeed, if you do this, your intellect will decrease.”
I have thought a great deal about this hadith, which the trustworthy hadith scholar, the great Shaykh al-Kulayni (may Allah have mercy on him), has included in al-Kafi, volume 4, page 148.
An idea came to my mind, which I would like to share with you: Why, when Mu’adh spoke about ease in life and abandoning trade to the Imam, did the Imam shift the discussion from money to intellect?
In other words, the Imam did not speak about Mu’adh’s money, but rather spoke about the decrease in Mu’adh’s intellect, and he warned him not to leave his trade.
I reflected on this and thought: Surely, Mu’adh’s character was such that his intellect and social status were very important to him.
He was not the type to engage in trade only for money. Along with money, matters such as intellect—which encompasses all the noble human traits—were important to him.
In fact, the importance of intellect for Mu’adh was even greater than the importance of money. This is why Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said that if he left trade, his intellect would decrease, and Mu’adh accepted this and complied.
Now, it is your turn, and your hearts.
If intellect is not important to you, when you, like Mu’adh, achieve ease in life through trade, you can abandon it.
Ayasartu means “I have reached ease.”
The Arabs used this word when there was no difficulty in their life.
So, this very phrase indicates that trade has the potential to transform all the difficulties of life into ease.
If you are only seeking ease in life, stay in trade for a while and then leave it.
But if, like Mu’adh ibn Kathir, intellect is important to you, you will stay in trade for your entire life and will never abandon it, even though you may have achieved ease in life many years earlier.
0
0